


Toxic Friendship

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Series: Breathe [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hallucinations, Monsters, Referenced Torture, Scared Keith (Voltron), toxins, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 07:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19080541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: On recon mission, Keith gets stung by a toxin that makes him see enemies instead of friends.The result is not what anyone expected.





	1. Stung

Shiro surveyed the seemingly quiet jungle-plains mix planet that they’d landed on. “Alright, team. Fan out. Look for any sign of Galra activity—or any sign of sentient life that we can work with. Watch out for any predators, and if you get in a tight spot, tell us—Coran can give the rest of us your coordinates, and we’ll come and get you.

“We _know_ ,” Pidge said aggrievedly, “This isn’t our first recon mission, Shiro.”

“And we haven’t gotten into any trouble on any of the other ones, either,” Lance grumbled.

“You can never be too careful,” Shiro scolded, “Alright, split up. I’ll be checking in every so often.”

They nodded and moved away. Keith headed straight for the plains. If there was a sentient life form that _wasn’t_ Galra, they’d be hiding in the jungles, a spot they could disappear into. But the Galra didn’t seem to care much for hiding, or for clearing out jungles when there was a perfectly available plain nearby.

So he’d be going to the plains. Recon meant that they _wouldn’t_ be attacking any Galra nests they found, but he still figured that there was always a chance that they’d end up fighting—and when it came down to it, he would rather it be him in the fight, instead of, say, Hunk. The yellow paladin could handle himself alright, but Keith knew that _Hunk_ would prefer to not be the one fighting.

Keith began his traipse across the plains, his bayard in hand. After about ten minutes, Shiro’s voice crackled in over the coms.

“Report.”

“Clear,” Hunk reported.

“Clear,” Pidge echoed.

“Clear,” Lance grumbled, “This planet is nothing but—”

“All clear,” Keith chimed in before the blue paladin could start complaining over the coms. A glimmer of movement caught his eye, and Keith stalked towards it, moving silently through the grass.

A startled sheep-looking thing with blue antennae and brownish wool that matched the grass around them bounded out of a particularly tall patch of grass, making indignant bleating noises at Keith. He let out a sigh of relief.

“You don’t happen to be sentient, do you?”

It kept bleating, as if trying to scare Keith away with all of its noise.

“I didn’t think so.”

The blue antennae raised up to ninety-degree angles, so that the ends were pointing directly at Keith. Keith took a hesitant step back.

“I’m not here to hurt you.”

The bleating just kept getting louder.

Xxx

Shiro heard a startled “Ow” from Keith, and he turned his com on. “You okay, Keith?”

“Yeah—I think I just got stung by a wasp or something. I’m fine.”

“Where did it get you?”

Keith’s voice was sounding a little muffled. “On the mouth.”

Lance let out a pleased crow of laughter. “Is your mouth swelling up?”

“Shut up, or I’ll find the bug and get it to sting _you_.” Keith muttered. Yeah, his voice was definitely more muffled. And based on the reaction to Lance’s comment, Shiro was sure that it was because Keith’s lip was swelling.

Lance shut up.

“Keith, go back to the rendezvous point,” Shiro ordered.

“What? Shiro, it’s just a little bug sting.”

“Be that as it may, this isn’t Earth. We don’t know what toxins might be in that sting. Are you feeling any different?”

There was a pause. “Little dizzy,” Keith admitted.

“Right, go back to the rendezvous. Coran can check you out for toxins, and if it’s harmless, you can go right back to the mission.”

There was no reply.

“Keith?”

Still no answer.

“Keith, come in!” When there was still no response from the red paladin, Shiro bit back a curse. “Coran, where is he?”

A map of the planet showed up on Shiro’s arm display, a little red dot blinking at Keith’s location. The other paladin’s dots also showed up. Shiro was the closest.

Shiro ran towards the dot on his map, watching it blink closer and closer.

And then he nearly tumbled into a ravine.

Shiro windmilled himself to a stop, peering down into the ravine. There was a crumpled shape at the bottom, and he peered down, hoping that the dark lump wasn’t…

“Keith?” he called softly.

No response.

Shiro jumped down, activating his jetpack in short bursts and landing next to the crumpled form with an undignified _oof_ and a stagger as he hit the ground a little harder than he intended. He shined his flashlight on the crumpled person—it was Keith, alright.

Shiro dropped down next to him, feeling for a pulse, and finding one, to his relief. He pulled off Keith’s helmet. His lip was indeed swollen, but it looked like Keith had gotten rid of the stinger. There was a lump on the back of his head, but his armor didn’t even look that dented. He must have hit his head on the way down.

His jetpack was fizzing weakly, and Shiro nodded to himself. Keith must have been trying to get to the bottom of the ravine—why, Shiro couldn’t fathom, but he was sure that Keith had his reasons. Maybe he’d spotted a possible sentient being and had jumped down to follow him. Whatever the case, his jetpack had clearly stopped working somewhere in the middle of his descent and had made him plummet—maybe he’d hit his head on a rock on his way down.

Keith groaned, and his eyes slowly opened, looking up at Shiro in utter confusion.

“Hey,” Shiro said calmly, “You’ve got a nasty knock on your head, buddy.”

Keith let out a startled yelp and pushed himself away from Shiro, wobbling to his feet. Shiro stood back up. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Keith started backing away slowly, looking like he might bolt at any second. Shiro blinked.

“Keith?”

Keith turned and ran, his path slightly erratic, probably due to the knock on the head. Shiro sprinted after him.

“Keith! Wait up! I’m trying to help!”

Keith let out the most derisive snort that Shiro had ever heard, and Shiro nearly stopped in his tracks. But Keith was swaying on his feet, so Shiro bolted forward and caught him as he fell.

“Easy, Keith,” Shiro said gently, sliding him to the ground, “That’s a really nasty knock on the head you’ve got there—I understand maybe you’re a little confused.”

Keith was still struggling weakly to get away, but Shiro hoisted him up and threw him over his shoulder, using his jetpack to make his way back to the top of the ravine. Somewhere along the way, Keith stopped struggling, and Shiro realized that he’d passed out again.

Shiro tapped his com as he reached the top. “Shiro, checking in. I’ve got Keith, but his jetpack is malfunctioning, and I think there’s something wrong with him—he can’t seem to recognize me. I want everyone to report back to the castle until we figure this out.”

There were some complaints, but the dots of the paladins started heading back to the castle. Shiro gave Keith an anxious lookover. Maybe he was just suffering from the head wound. But he’d been dizzy _before_ his fall in the ravine…

Shiro shook himself, beginning the trek back to the rendezvous with Keith thrown over one shoulder. He didn’t like this.

Why had Keith seemed so scared of him?

Xxx

Shiro watched Coran scan Keith with a small, handheld device. “What’s wrong?”

Coran frowned. “Minor concussion. He shouldn’t be passed out like this. Dizzy, yes. Nauseous? Yes. Passed out for the second time in a row… no.”

Keith’s eyes slid open, and he looked up at Coran, confused, like he was having trouble figuring out who he was. Shiro’s brow creased.

“Maybe it was whatever he got stung by? Do you have a way of checking that?”

“Of course, we just have to take a blood test—hold on, it’ll only take a tick.”

He pulled out a syringe from a cabinet, and Keith thrashed away, landing on the floor and rolling up to his feet, watching Coran and Shiro warily.

Shiro held his hands up non-threateningly. “Keith, it’s okay. We just want to run a test to make sure you’re okay.”

Keith backed away, until he ran into a stasis pod. He looked at it, then at Shiro and Coran. Shiro walked slowly towards him.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

Then the pod opened behind Keith, and he tumbled in, with his face a mask of shock. The pod closed over him, and it hissed to life. Shiro whirled around to face Coran, who was holding a remote.

“What are you doing?!”

“He’s confused,” Coran said gently, “He’s confused, and he’s clearly not seeing you as a friend. Until we figure out what’s wrong with him, I don’t want him any more frightened than he has to be. And besides,” he added, “the pod takes a blood sample for us, which seems much more humane than cornering him and taking it from him while he struggles. That’s just cruel.”

He waited as a machine processed, then bleeped at him.

“Oh! Well, that explains all of it.”

Shiro peered over his shoulder at the Altean lettering. “What? What does it explain?”

“Why he’s scared of you, and why he’s passed out. He’s been stung by a Yemae.”

“A what?”

Coran pulled up an image of a sheep-looking thing with antennae. “A Yemae. They’re quite gentle, really, and they’re very soft. And delicious to many predators. So they evolved a defense.”

The other paladins had wandered over, confused, and Coran ushered them all outside, releasing Keith from the stasis pod as he closed and locked the doors.

“They shoot a small stinger from their antennae that administers a toxin—it’s not deadly, but the side effects… they’re not fun.”

“How much not fun?”

Coran shrugged. “Well, the toxin depends on the person—which is why we can’t administer an antidote, because it conforms itself to their specific memories, brain patterns and genetics. It essentially alters the victim’s perception to flip every biological thing they see to its opposite in the subject’s mind. For instance, the predator about to eat the Yemae would suddenly see a very large, very dangerous predator, and hopefully won’t want to attack it. Which is all the Yemae intends, really.”

Shiro frowned. “So…”

“The victim of the toxin gets dizzy for the first few hours— _incredibly_ dizzy. To the point of not being able to walk well, or even passing out.” Coran nodded to Keith, who was shivering as he sat on a medical cot, glancing around at his surroundings. “Combine that with a head wound and it makes sense that he passed out twice. The victim is dizzy because of the alteration—because of the glaring differences between what the victim is actually seeing and what their brain is telling them that they’re seeing. It’ll be out of his system in around twenty-four vargas.”

“So why was he scared of us?”

“His perception of you was altered,” Coran said gently, “Instead of seeing his best friend, he saw his worst enemy. It might be best to keep him in isolation until the toxin has run its course.”

“Hang on,” Hunk interjected, “He’s got problems with recognizing faces, right? He goes mostly on voice, so why don’t we let him out and just not talk?”

Lance frowned. “He does?”

“Yeah, didn’t you see that he didn’t recognize you until you started talking? Didn’t you wonder why?”

Lance muttered something that sounded like “because he’s a _jerk_ ,” but no one quite caught it.

“That won’t work,” Pidge said with a shake of her head, “There are too many other ways to recognize people, like clothing or hairstyles. And besides, Lance could never keep his mouth shut anyway.”

“Hey!”

“Still, we shouldn’t just lock him up,” Hunk argued, “He should know _why_ we’re keeping him isolated!”

Coran frowned thoughtfully. “But if all he hears are enemy voices…”

“It’ll have to be someone who he’s not super great friends with,” Pidge suggested, “That way, even if they _do_ look different, he probably won’t, you know. Attack them.”

“Well, that’s me, isn’t it?” Lance put in. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet when everyone turned to look at him. “I mean, it’s not a secret that Keith and I aren’t exactly the best of buddies. I’m probably the option who’s least likely to be attacked.”

Shiro was looking more unhappy by the minute, but he nodded. “Lance is right. He should be the one.” He looked Lance in the eye. “If Keith starts to get hostile…”

“I’ll know he’s exactly the same,” Lance finished cheerfully.

Shiro shook his head. “If Keith looks like he’ll try to hurt you, you need to get out of there.”

“Right. Okay. Don’t stay in the room with an angry, hostile Keith. No problem.”

Shiro’s eyes were sad when he looked at Lance, but Lance got the feeling that they were sad for Keith. “Be careful, Lance. Don’t hurt him, but if he attacks you…” Shiro winced, as if he didn’t want to think about what Lance would have to do. “Don’t just let him attack you.”

“I’ll be on standby with the stasis pods,” Coran suggested, “If it looks bad for you, I’ll open one up, and then you just have to get him in.”

“He won’t fall for the same trick twice,” Shiro said quietly, “Lance—you might have to knock him out again. I don’t like the idea, but if it gets serious enough…”

“Got it. Thump Keith on the head if he tries to hurt me. I can do that.” Lance offered a grin, hoping to make Shiro laugh, or at least stop looking so _sad_. “I’d love to do that.”

Shiro’s sad face didn’t crack, and Lance went to the door, squaring his shoulders. The door hissed open, and he walked in, hearing it hiss and lock behind him. He gulped, facing Keith, who was still shivering on the cot, trying to rub feeling back into his arms.

“Keith?”

Keith looked up, and his face was equal parts relief and annoyance. “ _Lance_.”

Lance wasn’t sure whether to feel insulted or relieved that in Keith’s mind, he was equal part friend and enemy. “Hey. You feeling particularly murderous?”

Keith rolled his eyes, which Lance took as a no.

“Yeah, so, remember how you got stung by that thing? Did you see a little sheep thing?”

 _“That’s_ what stung me?”

“Yep. Soooo, it’s got this toxin thing. And basically, you’re seeing everyone on the opposite side. Like, the more of a friend they are to you, the more of an enemy you see. And vice versa, too, I guess. Anyway, Coran suggested keeping you isolated—”

“So who was in here before?”

“Hm? Oh, Shiro and Coran.”

Keith blinked. “You’re sure?”

“Yep. Definitely Shiro and Coran. Why? What did you see?”

“I saw…” Keith broke off, embarrassed. “Never mind.”

“So, do you want to? Stay isolated, I mean.”

Keith thought about that for a minute. “I… I don’t know.”

“Okay. Here’s an idea—we let everyone in, we see how bad it is, and then you decide?”

Keith nodded. “Okay. Yeah. Fine. We can do that.”

“I’ll be right here,” Lance continued, “Don’t attack anyone, and, uh, I’ll tell you who everyone is really, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lance waved at Coran to open the door, and he did, everyone edging in cautiously, all eyeing Keith like he was either about to burst into flames or start randomly singing, and they weren’t sure which. Next to Lance, Keith stiffened, his hand going to his bayard.

“Who are you seeing?” Lance questioned quietly.

“Sendak,” Keith whispered, edging his head towards Hunk, “His lieutenant,” he added, nodding to Allura. He looked towards Pidge, Shiro and Coran, and started to shake.

“Keith—Keith, whoa, calm down—hey—”

Keith’s hands curled into fists, his eyes wide with abject terror as he looked at Pidge, Shiro and Coran.

“Get out,” Lance yelped, “All of you, out, right now!”

They left, closing the door, which Keith kept watching, still shaking slightly.

“Who were you seeing? Sendak was Hunk, and the lieutenant was Allura.”

“But he had the _ears_ , and the _arm_ —”

“I promise you, Keith, it was Hunk and Allura.” Lance frowned. Keith had seemed ready to attack when he’d seen Hunk and Allura. He’d been ready to run, though, when he’d seen the others. “Who else?”

Keith swallowed. “A Garrison guard,” he said, “Dr. Christopher. And…” Keith broke off with a shudder.

Lance was already confused—a Garrison guard? Dr. Chris from the Garrison? Why was Keith seeing _them_?

“And Admiral Sanda,” Keith finally finished.

Admiral Sanda? What did _she_ have to do with anything?


	2. Bravery

Shiro glanced up as Lance exited the room, shaking his head. Inside, Keith was forlornly sitting on the cot, staring fiercely at the wall and furiously avoiding looking at the window in the door that separated him from the other paladins. “He says he wants to stay isolated. So that he doesn’t hurt anyone.” Lance handed Allura the red bayard. “He said to hang onto this. Just in case.”

“What happened?” Shiro asked.

Lance blew out a sigh. “I don’t know. He thought that you were Sendak,” he said to Hunk, “And you were Sendak’s lieutenant,” he added to Allura.

Shiro was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know. “Was I… Zarkon?”

But Lance was already shaking his head. “No, none of you were Zarkon. I’d think you would be, but…”

“But he’s never seen Zarkon,” Pidge suggested, “The toxin can’t show him what he’s never seen. Still, who were we?”

Lance pointed fingers at each of them in turn. “Garrison guard,” he said to Pidge, “Dr. Chris, a doctor at the Garrison,” to Coran, “and Admiral Sanda,” he said finally to Shiro.

Shiro blinked. “Admiral… Sanda…? What?”

Pidge was nodding, though. “Mm, two of those make sense. Not sure where Dr. Chris comes in, but maybe Coran is approaching neutral status in Keith’s mind, and so is Dr. Chris.”

Everyone’s heads whipped around to stare at her. “What?! How does this make sense to you?” Hunk demanded.

“I’d like to know that, too,” Shiro agreed.

“Oh. Right. None of you were… Right.” Pidge pushed up her glasses. “Well, I don’t know all of the facts, actually. But something happened back at the Garrison—after Keith got kicked out.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lance agreed, “Didn’t someone say that Keith was dead?”

Shiro stiffened. “What?!”

“He crashed a hoverbike in the desert and was proclaimed dead,” Pidge explained, “But that’s not the important part. The important part is, like, a few weeks later, James Griffin found him very much alive, locked up in the Garrison.”

Shiro was fairly certain that smoke was pouring out of his ears by now. “WHAT?!”

“He… wasn’t in the best condition,” Pidge said quietly, “He never told us exactly what happened. James rescued him, but… I mean, it was too late to undo whatever happened. He, uh… thought that James was Sanda a few times, when he was confused. He kept trying to run away. I guess that there was a guard or two down there that helped her because, um—well, that’s how he’s seeing me, right?”

Shiro started pacing. “So—wait— _you_ knew about this. Keith obviously knew about this. And _nether_ of you told me?!”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Pidge said simply, “It’s his. I only told you because it explained all of this. Otherwise… it’s up to Keith whether or not he wants to share.”

Shiro looked in at Keith, who was still scowling resolutely at the wall. “That’s… horrible,” he said quietly, “And Keith is seeing me as…” It was even _worse_ than being seen as Zarkon.

Even Lance didn’t seem to have anything to say. It was Allura who broke the silence.

“We shouldn’t leave him in the med bay. If we need to use it, then we can’t have him in there.”

“His room is more comfortable anyway,” Pidge offered, “And, you know. Private.”

Hunk nodded in mute agreement.

Coran flapped a hand at them. “Alright, everyone, shoo, down to the bridge. Lance, you make sure that he gets to his room alright, and then come tell us when he’s safely away from where he might see us.”

Lance nodded, and the others walked away, leaving only Shiro and Lance behind. Shiro looked in the med bay. “I never knew…” _I never knew that he’d been hurt like that. I never knew what he’d gone through. I never knew that he suffered just as much as I did, maybe more because for **his own people** to be doing that to him_…

“You should leave, too, Shiro,” Lance said quietly, gently, “I’ll take care of him, I promise.” He wrinkled his nose. “Gross. Never thought I’d be saying that about _Keith_.”

Shiro gave him a grateful look. “Thank you, Lance. For doing this. I know it’s probably not fun for you, either _._

Lance shuffled his feet with a rather pleased expression. “Well. You know. It’s part of being a team, right?” A small grin crept over his face. “Besides, he’s much more manageable when he’s half concussed. We should whack him over the head more often.”

Despite himself, Shiro felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. That was Lance for you, making jokes about a hard situation to make it seem better.

Not that he could forget the idea of Keith being locked up for weeks.

Not that he could push the idea that they were doing that right now to him.

Xxx

Keith looked up as the med bay door hissed open. It was only Lance who came through, none of the others, and the hallway was clear. “Where did they go?” he asked sharply.

“Remember what I said, they’re not really who you—”

“I know that.”

“Okay, sure, if you say so. You want to go to your room? Just in case we need to use the med bay?”

Keith knew it wasn’t really an option. If he didn’t, Lance would make him. Keith almost snorted at the thought. Lance. Making _him_ do something. But his head was still throbbing from when he’d fallen in the ravine, and he was still a little dizzy, so maybe it could happen after all.

“What if I run into one of them?”

“They’re all locked up on the bridge right now, and they pinky-swore that they wouldn’t leave until you were in your room.” Lance grinned at him. “Totally safe.”

And that made everything better and worse at the same time, because he wouldn’t run into any of them, but they’d had to hide from him, and move and inconvenience themselves for him, and that wasn’t okay.

“Okay,” he said quietly, “I’ll go.”

And Lance followed him all the way to his room, making sure he went inside. Keith bit back a flare of annoyance at that, settling for closing the automatic door as hard as he could. He waited for sound of the lock clicking shut from the outside, but it never came. It was only a small comfort.

Keith locked his room from the inside so that no one could get in and sat down on his bed. He might as well take a nap. There wasn’t much else he could do under the toxin, and since Zarkon could find them at any time, he should get sleep where he could.

 _It’s only a short nap_ , he told himself.

Seven hours later, he woke up, angry at himself for sleeping for so long. Although, he had to admit, he felt much better.

There was a knock on the door, and Keith snatched up his knife, before remembering that he was in the Castle with his friends, and he didn’t have to be wary of every visitor.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and time seemed to slow. Admiral Sanda was standing in front of him. Right there. Plain as day.

 _How did she get here_?!

 _Maybe it’s a dream_. _Just another nightmare_.

Keith pinched himself. Not a dream. Sanda was _here_ on the Castle, how was she _here_?!

“Keith?” Sanda questioned quietly.

Keith backed up until his back hit the wall, and then he remembered his knife and pointed it with shaking hands at Sanda.

“Don’t get any closer!” Why was his voice _shaking_ so much, it needed to _stop shaking_ because if she thought he was scared (which he was), she would take advantage of that, would do—he didn’t know what, but he was sure she’d find some horribly creative way to use his fear.

Sanda held her hands up, showing that she was unarmed. “Keith. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Keith let out a sound that was half a snort, half a cry of despair as she advanced on him. “Stop—stay away! Get away!”

“Keith, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you, but I hoped—Keith, it’s me, it’s Shiro, I know you’re seeing _her_ , but it’s not real, and I _swear_ that I will _never_ hurt you.”

“Stop it—stop lying, stop coming closer, stop—”

To his surprise, Sanda _did_ stop. But she was still in-between him and the door. If she shut and locked it—he had to get out before that happened.

Keith bolted for the door, and Sanda stood aside. “Keith, wait—”

She reached a pleading hand out, and Keith slashed at it with his knife. She drew back, her face white with shock and pain, and then he was gone, sprinting outside and running away. He glanced behind him to see if she was following—she was not—and ran into something very big, bouncing off with a squeak. He looked around, and immediately, his knife was back out.

“Of course she let you out—where are the other paladins?!”

Sendak sedately blinked one big eye. “Oh, hey.”

“What did you do with the other paladins?!”

Sendak blinked at him in confusion. “Um—nothing? Oh, that’s right, Keith, it’s fine, I’m actually Hunk—not Sendak. Okay?”

Keith snorted. “Right, like I’d fall for that! Do you think I’m concussed or something?! Where’s Shiro?! Tell me, or I’ll give you a matching missing eye on the other side of your face!”

Sendak stumbled back, startled. “Um… He’s…” he glanced at Sanda for direction, and she shrugged helplessly. “That way…” Sendak told him, pointing down the hallway, “Very, very far away from me.”

“What kind of trick are you playing?!”

Sendak’s face shifted to a more arrogant position. “I’d hurry to find him, paladin.”

Pictures of all of the horrible things that could be happening to Shiro flashed though Keith’s mind, and he bolted down the hallway, surprised that Sendak didn’t chase after him. What was his plan? And more importantly, where were all of the other paladins?! Had they seriously all been captured while Keith had been sleeping?!

He ran into someone else, and both of them tumbled to the ground with an _oof_.

“Ow,” Lance grumbled. “Watch where you’re going!”

Keith struggled to get off of him. “Lance? Lance! Do you know where the others are being kept?”

Lance blinked at him in irritated confusion, sitting up. “What are you talking about?”

Had Lance _seriously_ not noticed? Well, if anyone could somehow miss the fact that Sendak was walking around and that all of his fellow paladins had likely been captured, it was Lance. “Sendak’s loose, and I don’t know where any of the others are! You’re the only one I’ve seen!”

Lance heaved a sigh. “Oh. Right. That. Keith, remember what we talked about earlier? The whole toxin thing?” He tapped a panel, looking through various displays.

“This is _real_ ,” Keith insisted, “Sendak is loose, and—”

“Why don’t we go back to where Sendak is, and I’ll tell you if it’s actually Sendak or not?”

“What?! No! Do you have a death wish?!”

“Keith—”

“No! Lance, we’ve got to find the others and either catch or kill Sendak!”

“Mmmmm, yeah, found them! Hi, Coran!”

Keith whirled around and saw Dr. Chris. He turned to face Lance, who had his fingers on the display. An alert. Lance had betrayed him.

Keith felt the floor falling from beneath him. It all made _sense_. Lance had never liked him, and had never wanted to work with him. He was trying to get rid of him—he didn’t know where the others were, maybe Lance had directed their attention somewhere else. Whatever the case, they couldn’t help him.

Lance shook his shoulder. “Keith? You still with us?”

Keith whirled away from him and slammed his open palm into Lance’s nose, blood spurting out. Lance jerked away with a yelp.

“Owwwww!

“Traitor!” Keith yelled, and bolted before Dr. Chris could grab him, his legs pumping frantically. He rounded a corner—but there was a Garrison guard, talking with Sendak’s lieutenant. They looked up and spotted him.

“Keith?” the guard questioned hesitantly.

Keith turned down a different hallway, the only option he had left. He could hear Dr. Chris’ pounding footsteps behind him, and he ran faster, sliding in through another door and locking it behind him, his heart racing.

_Safe._

_Trapped_.

Xxx

Shiro jogged to catch up with Coran. “Do you know where he went?”

“No. And worse yet, he thinks that Lance has betrayed him—we don’t have any way of communicating with him that won’t either make him attack us or go into a state of terror. But we need to go to the med bay and take a look at that hand.”

Shiro glanced at his bleeding hand, which Keith had slashed with his knife in an attempt to make a run for it. It stung, but not too badly. “I’ll be alright. Finding Keith and making sure he doesn’t do anything drastic is more important. We should all be looking.” He commed in everyone else. “We’re looking for Keith—but don’t approach him if you see him. Just mark his location and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“You mean stupid like breaking my nose?” Lance muttered in a thick voice, pinching his nose to stop the bleeding.

“Exactly like that,” Shiro said gravely, “Or worse.”

Xxx

“Hello, there.”

Keith jumped, whirling around to face a floating hologram man. He looked kind of like Allura. “What…?”

The hologram squinted at him. “I’m King Alfor. Or, at least, what’s left. You’re the new red paladin, aren’t you?”

Keith nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Tell me, how is Red doing?”

“Fine. Temperamental. Were you…”

“The red lion’s first paladin, yes.” King Alfor studied him. “By the ancients, you’re the one who got stung by the Yemae. No wonder you’re in here.”

Lance had said something like that. “So?”

Alfor gave a sigh. “Poor, scared child. It’s alright. No one is trying to hurt you. The blue paladin spoke the truth. Sendak is not free. Your friends are safe.”

Keith bristled. “I’m not _scared_!”

Alfor shuddered and flickered. “My apologies. A bug in my system. Leftover Galran crystal, I think. I’ve been trying to get rid of it. What were we talking about? Oh, yes. That’s right, about your present condition.”

Keith crossed his arms, fuming. “I’m not scared, and I’m not a child!”

“Red paladin— _Keith_. It is alright to be frightened. Bravery is not having no fear. Bravery is pressing on despite the fear. Our fear keeps us alive. Right now, you’re scared of your past.”

“I’m _not_! There’s nothing in my past that bothers me!”

“Really? You’re a sound sleeper, then? Sweet dreams, no restless nights?”

Keith looked away. “Look, it doesn’t _matter_. It’s _over_. We’re not on Earth anymore. What happened on Earth stays on Earth.”

“Hm. If that’s what you believe.”

“It _is_.”

“Well. I may be able to help you with your present condition. I think, perhaps, as long as you are in here, it would be possible for me to project a hologram of the real person over what you see—the Yemae’s sting only affects the biological things that you see, so you should be able to see the hologram as I project it.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

The door hissed open, and Keith slid off into a corner. Sendak’s lieutenant entered, collapsing at the base of Alfor’s stand. Light danced over him, creating another image over him—Allura. She spoke, and Keith shuddered, hearing the lieutenant’s voice come out of Allura’s mouth.

“Father, I don’t know what to do! The red paladin is gone—we can’t find him anywhere, and even if we did—there’s no telling what could happen! I’ve lost him so soon—I don’t know if I can do this! Please—I need your guidance!”

“Do not worry, Allura,” Alfor said calmly, quietly, his holographic hand touching her hair, “I am keeping an eye on the red paladin—he will not come to any harm. Nor will I allow him to bring harm to you. Go and tell the other paladins, and return to your duties.”

“Thank you, Father.” Allura scrambled to her feet and left.

“Goodbye, daughter,” Alfor said quietly. Once the door was closed, Keith sidled back out into the open.

“Keeping an eye on me?”

“I have an eye on _everything_ in the castle. But since the toxin took hold of you, yes, I have been keeping watch over you.”

There was a small alert, and Keith’s head snapped up. “What was that?”

“A door opened, another bug.” Alfor was starting to sound worried. “Something’s got in. Something big, and, ah, rather dangerous. I’m sure the other paladins can take care of it.”

Keith started towards the door. “I’m going to help them.”

“Keith, wait. Once you’re out of this room, I can no longer create holograms over what you see. You’ll be seeing enemies everywhere, and I don’t even want to think what you’ll see instead of the creature that’s got in. It might be better if you were to stay in here.”

Keith was already shaking his head. “They need me. And since you’ve confirmed that there’s no enemies in the castle except for this thing, I just… have to remember that.”

“There you go,” Alfor said quietly as Keith strode out the door, “ _That’s_ bravery.” He nodded to himself. “You’ll be a good red paladin.”


	3. Venom

Shiro jumped back to avoid a swipe of claws. This thing was _huge_ —bigger than an elephant, and _definitely_ more dangerous. It had giant claws, a jaw like a wolf, and a lithe, tiger-like body that was covered in scales.

Shiro rolled to the side as its tail stabbed down where he’d been. Oh, and it had a venomous scorpion tail, had he forgotten to mention that part?

Lance fired at the creature, yelling slightly hysterically. The bullets seemed to only annoy it, and it leapt forward, bringing its massive claws down on his shield, shattering it. The next swipe tore through Lance’s armor like it was tissue paper, and Lance went flying into the wall, deep gashes in his chest.

“Lance!” Pidge and Hunk yelped.

Shiro leapt at the creature, bringing his glowing arm in an arc down on its leg, directing its attention away from the fallen blue paladin. It growled and turned on him, snarling and snapping its massive jaws. Shiro jumped backwards, barely avoiding the teeth as they closed down. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Pidge and Hunk dragging Lance down the hall. Good. He just had to keep this thing’s attention on him.

He dodged another claw swipe and countered with another burning welt on its leg. It snapped again, and the broadside of its tail grazed his chest, sending him into a wall.

Shiro let out an _oof_ as the air was knocked from him, and he dazedly rolled away from the tail’s next strike.

There was a rattling in the vents above him, and then a vent covering landed on the creature’s head. It looked up at the ceiling in confusion, as if wondering where the attack came from, and then a shouting Keith jumped down on top of it, driving his knife right at the jewel-hard scales. It bounced off, but the creature still yelped, shaking itself to get rid of the intruder.

“Keith?!”

Keith shuddered when Shiro spoke, but muttered something to himself—Shiro thought it might have been “it’s not real”.

Keith seemed to be having trouble staying on the roiling creature’s back, and then its tail whipped around, catching Keith in the legs and knocking him over. Another _whack_ of the tail sent him careening into the wall, and he crumpled in a heap on the floor. The creature turned to him with a growl.

“Yah!”

Shiro dove under the creature and got in-between it and Keith, slicing at its face with his arm. It backed off with a hiss, following Shiro as he led it away from Keith, darting in for quick hits.

Hunk returned, blasting the creature with a barrage of hits that mostly seemed to just bruise it, because it turned on him with a slow growl. Shiro sliced through one of its claws, making it shriek with pain and turn back to him. Shiro danced away from its claws, and then it shrieked again, its mouth open wide.

Keith had staggered to his feet and had driven his knife in-between the webbing between the creature’s claws. Its tail whipped towards him and stabbed him in the chest, pushing him against the wall before releasing him so that he could fall to the ground.

“NO!” Shiro smelled the sharp smell of venom, and then he saw it. There were no scales in this thing’s mouth. “GO FOR THE MOUTH!” he shouted to Hunk.

Hunk’s next barrage of laser bullets hit it in the roof of its mouth, and it shrieked, apparently deciding that this prey was not worth it and bounding out of the castle.

Shiro was already half-running, half-scrambling towards Keith, sliding on his knees the last few feet, cradling Keith’s head in his lap. “Keith? Buddy, can you hear me?!” The stinger hadn’t gone in too deeply—it was a nasty gash, but not a life-ending one. The venom, though, Shiro was more worried about.

Keith’s eyes slowly blinked open at Shiro. “Shi-ro?” he slurred.

Shiro felt a surge of relief. “You see me—not anyone else?”

“Y-yeah…” Keith started to push himself up. “Ugh—what…? Where did the cow go?”

No wonder Keith had been having trouble fighting that thing. It had been significantly bigger than a cow, and it must have been weird for a cow to stab him with its tail. Shiro supposed that cows weren’t exactly the most frightening creature, provided that you never saw one that was stampeding. So the giant monster turning into a cow kind of made sense. “Keith, how are you feeling?”

“Kind of sore…”

Translation: he was hurting a lot, but was pretending that he wasn’t.

“Okay. Okay, how about your chest?”

Keith frowned. “Stings a little.”

Translation: It was burning and stinging a _lot_ , but Keith was hoping it would go away.

Keith put one hand on the wall for balance. “Little dizzy…”

Now Shiro was worried. “Keith, let’s get you to the med bay, okay?”

“’Kay…” Keith took a staggering step forward, and nearly collapsed. Shiro leapt forward to catch him, and Keith slammed his eyes shut. “Why… everything… spinning,” he managed.

Shiro picked him up. “I’ve got you. We’re going to have Coran check you out, you’ll be okay, just hang on.”

“Urgh—Shiro—everything is spinning—why won’t it stop?!”

“Hang on, bud, just hang on.”

Shiro sprinted down to the med bay. Lance was already floating in a pod, the gashes in his chest neatly closing up. He set Keith down on a cot.

“Coran, that thing stung him—any idea what it does?”

Coran was already taking a blood sample, looking at his screen, watching it…  His eyebrows shot up. “I don’t believe it!”

“What?”

“That venom, it—it counteracts the Yemae toxin! That’s why he’s dizzy—the two are fighting for dominance, and the world keeps alternately switching from the normal to what the toxin shows him and then back again.” Coran studied the screen. “Oh—this isn’t going to be good.”

“What?”

“The two substances—they’re battling, and—it’s not going to be pretty. The Yemae toxin puts up quite the fight. Normally, it just fades out on its own, but now…” Coran let out a sigh and rummaged through a cabinet. “He’ll be seeing things that aren’t there. And… it just won’t be pleasant. For Keith. Or for us.”

“Can’t you do anything about it?”

“I can’t. We don’t have medicine for either of these, and I don’t want to sedate him so he won’t see it—I’m worried about the effects that introducing a third substance into his system might be.”

“Then what are you looking for?”

Coran pulled out a few restraints. “Just in case,” he said miserably.

“Do it,” Keith said from the bed, watching Coran. His eyes were open, his face pale. “Do it before I lose control of my mind and body.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If I’m going to be tied down, I want it to be while I know what’s happening.” Keith’s voice was braced, determined. “Don’t let me out, no matter what I start saying, okay? Even if I beg, don’t let me lose.” His eyes darted to Shiro’s hand, the one that he’d injured with his knife. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Keith…”

“Please. And… Could Shiro do it?”

Shiro blinked. “Me?”

“I trust you more than anyone else, Shiro. I need to know—I need to see… Please, Shiro.”

“Alright.”

“One for each ankle and knee, and one for each elbow and wrist,” Coran instructed, handing the restraints to Shiro, “And one around his chest.”

Shiro nodded numbly, hardly believing that this was happening. That he was tying his best friend down. But he did it, locking down each restraint. A hand on his wrist stopped him as he came to Keith’s right arm. It was Keith, his eyes locked onto Shiro’s. “Shiro… Don’t let the others in? Please? I don’t want them to see this.”

Shiro swallowed, hard. That was the voice of someone who knew what was ahead of him, and was absolutely _terrified_. Shiro didn’t know if he just didn’t want the other paladins to see him in his weakest state, or if he didn’t want them to be scared by what happened to him, and he wasn’t sure that he _wanted_ to know. “Okay. Okay, I’ll keep them out.”

Keith’s face relaxed, and his hand released Shiro’s wrist, putting his arm back in place to be tied down. “Thank you, Shiro.”

Shiro hesitated, then, “Keith, what happened at the Garrison?”

Keith tensed. “I got booted out.”

“No, after that. Pidge told us…” Shiro trailed off as he locked the remaining restraints in place, looking to Keith for an answer.

Keith shuddered. “Shiro, I—I don’t want to talk about it, okay? I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m worried that thinking about things like that… I don’t want to give the toxin anything to feed itself with.”

“I understand.” Shiro put a gentle hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Coran and I will be right here, okay? Remember that.”

Keith nodded tensely, and Shiro found a chair, all three of them waiting… waiting…

Keith’s hearing was the first to go.

Keith tugged at the restraints. “Shiro? Shiro, the other paladins—they’re in trouble, Shiro!”

Shiro was at his side in an instant. “Keith, calm down, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Shiro, I can hear them screaming—oh, stars—they’re screaming, Shiro, we have to find them, we have to—stars, no, no, no, Pidge just stopped, why did she stop, Shiro, why—why did she—?”

“Keith. Keith, listen to me.”

Keith’s eyes attached themselves to his desperately.

“Keith, focus on my voice, okay? Listen to me, focus on what I’m saying. The screaming isn’t real, Keith. Repeat it.”

“Th-The screaming—it’s not real,” Keith repeated shakily.

“Good. Good, you’re doing great. Focus on me, Keith.”

Keith’s eyes darted to the side. “The screaming—”

“On me, Keith. Remember when we’d hoverbike in the desert?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Okay, remember that, hold that in your mind. Remember what I said about jumping off of the cliff?”

Keith nodded. “It’s all about timing,” he quoted, “Pull up too soon, and you won’t have the momentum to create lift. Too late, there won’t be enough lift to avoid the crash.”

“That’s right. Good. Remember the wind?”

“Y-yeah, it kept blowing my hair everywhere.”

“It did.” Keith’s eyes darted off again. “On me, Keith. On me. The screaming isn’t real.”

Keith let out a shuddering breath. “It’s not real,” he repeated. Then his face crumpled. “Shiro, how do you _know_ it’s not real, maybe they’re in trouble, maybe the not-a-cow creature came back, maybe—”

“Keith, whose voices do you hear?”

Keith took in another shaky breath. “Hunk. Allura. Lance. Pidge stopped—Shiro—”

“Keith, it can’t be real. Look, Keith, look over there.” Keith’s eyes followed Shiro’s finger to the pod. “Look, see? How can Lance be screaming if he’s right there? It’s not real, Keith.”

Keith blinked in disbelief at Lance. “Right there. He can’t be—” Keith tensed, his eyes wide. “Shiro, the creature is back, I can hear it, Shiro—”

Shiro glanced at Coran, who shook his head. “Keith, it’s okay, it’s okay, I _promise_ , it’s not on board. Focus on me, Keith—Keith?”

Keith was stock still, his nostrils flaring in and out.

“Keith?”

“Smoke.”

One word. Shiro marveled how one simple word could carry so much fear. But he knew why it carried so much weight. Smoke. Smoke meant a fire.

“Keith—”

“Shiro, I can hear the flames—I can hear the crackling, and I can smell the smoke, Shiro, please, we have to get out of here, we have to find the others—Shiro, you have to let me out, I know I said not to, but you have to—”

“Keith, please, Keith, focus on me—”

“Shiro, the castle is burning, it’s on fire, we’re going to die if we don’t stop it—” Keith’s voice was rising in pitch. “—if you don’t let me out, it’ll get me, Shiro, please, please, don’t leave me here, don’t let me burn, Shiro please, the castle is on fire, I can smell it, I can hear it, Shiro _please_! Don’t leave me, please, I’m sorry, whatever I did, I’m sorry, please let me out, please!” His voice had rising into a frantic shriek, and he pulled at his bindings, as if trying to rip them off through the force of his will.

“Keith, stop, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself—please, Keith—” Shiro pinned him by the shoulders. “Keith, listen to me—I’ll get you out if there’s a fire.”

Keith’s chest was heaving, and his eyes locked onto Shiro’s, frantic, terrified.

“Keith. I won’t leave you here if there’s a fire, I _promise_. I’ll let you out if there’s a fire.”

“Shiro, there _is_ a fire, it’s coming towards us—” Keith suddenly went very still, and his eyes slid over Shiro as if he weren’t there. “Shiro? Shiro, where did you go?”

“Keith, I’m right here, I promise, I haven’t left—Keith?”

“Shiro? Shiro! Shiro, come back, come back, please, I’m sorry for arguing with you, I’ll say there’s no fire, just please, please come back—Coran?! Coran, where are you?! Shiro?! Coran?!” Keith’s eyes slid desperately to where Lance was still in stasis. “Lance? No—how did he—where did—Shiro, Coran, Lance, come back, please, don’t leave me, please, don’t leave me here, tied up—please, whatever I’ve done, I’m sorry—Lance, I’m sorry I broke your nose, please, please, don’t leave me here—I can’t move, please!” Desperate tears started rolling down Keith’s cheeks.

“Please, come back, please, please, come back, what did I do? What did I do wrong? I won’t do it again, please, come _back_!” Keith’s chest heaved with sobs. “Please, I can’t get out on my own, please—don’t leave me here!”

“Keith,” Shiro said desperately, knowing that it was useless, that Keith couldn’t hear or see him.

Keith froze, tears still streaming down his cheeks. “What was that? Who’s there?” His eyes fixed on something that wasn’t there. And he gulped. “No,” he whispered, “No, I escaped, why am I here, why—no, go away, don’t get near me—”

Shiro tried again, hoping beyond hope that maybe the toxin had forgotten about him. “Keith—”

“Where’s Shiro?! What did you do to him—Where did you put him?!

Keith’s chest heaved with frantic fear as whatever he saw got closer. “No, no, please, I didn’t—” He shrieked, a long, heartbroken sound of pain and despair, and he thrashed, apparently ignoring the way that his restraints cut into him.

Shiro reached for the way to unlock the restraints, but Coran stopped him. “No. If you let him out, he’ll just hurt himself worse.”

“Please,” Keith sobbed, “Please, stop, please, please—no, no, no, don’t! Please—not again! _Please_!” Keith let out another shriek, and Shiro’s fists clenched as he watched, forced to see his friend suffer and know that he could do _nothing_ to stop it. Another shriek that faded into a harsh sob, thrashes turning into heavy breathing and shaking shoulders.

Keith sobbed again, then, “What—what’s that? What…? Where did she…?” One more sob. “What…” His eyes fixed suddenly on Shiro. “ _Shiro_.” And his voice was relieved, to the point of breaking out into another round of sobs. “You came back!”

Shiro bit back a sob himself. “Yeah. Yeah, bud, I’m right here.” He held Keith’s hand tightly. “Right here.”

“Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we go home, now?” Keith’s voice sounded so… _childlike_. Is she gone?”

“Who, Keith?”

“Ad—” Keith hiccupped and shuddered.

“The Admiral? Yeah. Yeah, she’s gone. It’s just me. I’m right here.”

“Can I leave, now?”

Shiro glanced at Coran, who shook his head. _Thirty more minutes_ , he mouthed, and Shiro’s heart cracked in two. Maybe they were in the eye of the storm. Shiro didn’t know. But Keith still had half an hour to go of this before he was done.

“Not yet, Keith. Almost there. But not yet.”

There was a knock, and Coran went to get it. Shiro heard him quietly telling whoever was outside to leave and stay out of the med bay for now. He squeezed Keith’s hand tighter, to assure him that he was still there.

“Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Where did you go? You were there, and then you weren’t, and…” Suddenly, Keith’s hand went limp in Shiro’s, and he stared at Shiro in horror. “Shiro!”

“Keith—Keith, I’m right here, I—”

“S-snakes,” Keith’s teeth chattered. He strained against his bindings again, trying to push away from Shiro. “Not Shiro, Shiro’s made of snakes,” he babbled, “Rattlesnakes—”

He let out another piercing shriek, and Shiro knew, instinctively, that he’d been bitten. The hand closest to Shiro’s clenched and unclenched, and Keith screamed again, again, and again. Shiro knew what the rattlesnakes out in the desert could do, and how if you didn’t get an anti-venom quickly, their bite would kill.

The screams kept going, until Keith’s voice cracked, and he coughed and sobbed, trying to curl into a ball but unable to because of the bindings. Shiro fought back tears, looking at Keith, his brave friend, who was always so willing to jump into any situation—sobbing, crying, _terrified_.

“Please.” Shiro didn’t know who he was saying it to or what he was hoping for, but he said it, over and over and over like a prayer. “Please, please, please, please…”

Keith stared up at the ceiling, suddenly still and quiet. “I’m made of ice,” he murmured, “Frozen solid. Crack, crack, crack.” He laughed hysterically, then spotted Shiro. “Shiro?”

“Right here, not made of snakes, I promise.” Shiro’s voice shook, and the smile he’d forced onto his face disappeared quickly. “Right here.”

“Shiro, I can’t feel anything. My feet are turning into ice, and my fingers, too. It’s spreading, Shiro. I’m turning into ice.”

Shiro squeezed Keith’s hand, but he gave no indication that he’d felt it. “You’re going to be okay,” he told Keith, but his cracking voice betrayed him, so he swallowed down any other words.

“It’s spreading,” Keith said again, “When it reaches my heart, I’ll die.”

“Don’t say that, Keith, please…”

“My shoulders are frozen,” Keith said quietly, still staring sightlessly at the ceiling. “I can feel it spreading into my stomach. Crack, crack, crack. Goodbye, Shiro.”

“You’re going to be okay, Keith. Please, Keith.”

“I can smell the smoke,” Keith said quietly, “It’s coming again. The fire. The flames. _Ashes, ashes, we all fall down_ ,” he sing-songed, “Do you think that the fire will melt me?”

He turned his head to look at Shiro. “Shiro… you said you’d let me out if there was a fire.”

“There’s no fire, Keith.”

“Yes, there is, it’s burning, burning closer…” Keith let out a small scream. “Shiro, it’s burning me, Shiro—Shiro, please, Shiro, you promised, you _promised_ , please, please, please, let me out, Shiro you said you wouldn’t let me burn, _please_!”

“There’s no fire,” Shiro repeated, his voice cracking, “There’s no fire, Keith.”

Keith stared at him in shock and betrayal. “You promised,” he whispered, “Shiro, you _promised_! You—” Keith screamed. And screamed. And screamed, yanking on his restraints and looking at Shiro with those betrayed eyes. Shiro rocked back and forth on his heels with one hand to his mouth, pressing back tears back. Keith let out one more drawn-out scream, and then went silent, thrashing soundlessly.

“One minute,” Coran said hoarsely.

Still, Keith thrashed, and Shiro began to wonder if Coran was right, or if this would go on, and never stop.

“Ten,” Coran intoned, “Nine, eight, seven, six—”

Keith’s eyes fixed on Shiro, wild, despairing, betrayed, filled with pain, and for a moment, Shiro was sure that he could see what Keith felt happening, that Keith was burned, blackened, dying.

“You… promised…” Keith whispered hoarsely, and his voice held enough anguish to knock Shiro to his knees, holding back sobs. Keith’s eyes started to close shut, the normal light behind them dim from exhaustion and pain. “You…”

“—one,” Coran finished, and Keith’s eyes slid shut.

Coran started pulling off restraints, rubbing one hand over his tired face. “He’ll be alright, now. The Yemae toxin is completely neutralized, and so is the venom of that other thing.” Coran pulled out some kind of medical goo and tugged Keith’s shirt off, rubbing the goo on his chest where the creature had stung him and on the thin sore on his chest where he’d strained against the bindings. It shimmered and covered the wounds, and Keith let out a relaxed sigh in his sleep. Coran applied the goo to the other sores and gave a sigh himself.

“I don’t know about you,” he said to Shiro, “But I never want to see anything like that again.”

Shiro nodded in mute agreement, wobbling back to his feet and collapsing in his chair. Coran put a gentle hand on his shoulder for a moment and then handed him the goo so that he could apply it to his sore hand, and then bustled off to check on Lance’s progress.

The door opened behind Shiro, and feet tapped behind him. Pidge walked straight to Keith, now sleeping peacefully, and her face creased with worry.

“Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Is he going to be okay? We—we heard screams. We came to see what was going on, but Coran told us not to come in. Hunk is stress baking. I don’t know where Allura is.”

Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Yeah, he’s going to be okay. I hope.” _The screaming isn’t real_. But for the other paladins, it was. The screaming had been all too real. He sighed. The look in Keith’s eyes… Shiro didn’t think he’d ever recover from that.

Xxx

Keith heard the beeping of a stasis pod, and he forced his eyes to open, turning his head to the side to see Shiro, snoring in a chair. Coran was nearby, looking at readouts on a screen and tugging thoughtfully on his mustache

“Hey,” Keith croaked. His throat felt _horrible_.

Shiro snapped awake. “Keith?”

“I think Lance is done,” he managed, nodding towards the pod that was starting to hiss open.

Coran bustled towards the pod, but Shiro scooted closer to Keith. “Keith? Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I think. Kind of thirsty.”

Shiro wordlessly found a hydration pack and helped Keith sit up, offering him the pack. Keith drank the water gratefully, and Shiro squirmed uncomfortably.

“Keith?”

“Hm?”

“How much do you remember?”

Keith hummed thoughtfully. Nothing was clear since he stopped being able to see Shiro—after that, it was just blind terror and pain, fire, ice, Sanda and horrible heartbreak, although he couldn’t remember _why_ , it was lost, but he wanted to know, wanted to know why he’d felt so betrayed… but he couldn’t remember no matter how hard he tried—all he remembered was the feelings, not the reason why. Probably a side effect of the toxin, but _still_ , it bothered him that there was a gaping hole in the question “why”. There had been one moment, though, after a bit of calm that had let his mind take a break…

“You dissolved into rattlesnakes,” Keith offered, “I remember that.” That had been horrible, because suddenly, Shiro’s hand had turned into a snake, a snake that had bitten him… he shook the memory away. His face started to crumple. “Um… how… how bad was it? Was I?”

He could see the answer in Shiro’s haunted eyes, but he wanted verbal confirmation.

“It was… not good,” Shiro managed, “It… it scared me.”

Keith frowned. He could vaguely remember ice creeping up on his limbs, and a rhyme coming from his lips. “Was I babbling?”

“Uh—a little.”

Keith winced. No wonder he’d scared Shiro. “Great. The other paladins…?”

“Never saw,” Shiro assured him. “Keith… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for anything I ever… if I ever made you feel lost, or abandoned, or betrayed… I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Shiro was hugging him fiercely, and Keith wasn’t quite sure what he’d done, or why Shiro’s shoulders were shaking, but he took the hug anyway, leaning into it gratefully. It was warm, blissfully warm as opposed to the cold of space and the castle. Warm, and more importantly, _safe._ Maybe the pain was gone, and he couldn’t remember what caused it. But he still remembered the pain itself, and he shuddered, leaning further into the hug.

“Are you having a hugging party? Did you guys invite Hunk? Because he’s going to be very upset if you didn’t.”

Keith broke off the hug to look around at Lance, out of the sleeping pod clothes and back into his normal jacket. “Lance—I’m sorry about your nose. I didn’t…” Inwardly, he winced. He’d called Lance a traitor. He’d broken Lance’s nose.

But Lance was waving a hand. “Ah, you were high on Yemae toxin. It’s all sky under the lion, if you know what I mean.”

Keith didn’t, but he wasn’t going to ask _Lance_.

“Healing pod fixed everything right up, so no worries, right? I’ll be fine. I see that you’re not attacking Shiro, so I guess you’re better too, huh? Cool. Well, I’m pretty sure I heard Pidge say something about cookies, so I’m going to see what’s going on there. Catch you later. Try not to get stung by any more sheep.”

Lance slunk off, and Keith blinked.

“Just like that, he’s okay with it?”

Shiro shrugged. “That’s Lance for you. But seriously, Keith, are you okay?”

Keith nodded. “Fine.” He had a bit of a headache—probably from getting slammed into the wall, _twice_. He’d be okay.

Shiro hesitated. “Keith—about what happened on Earth, with Sanda…”

Keith tensed, wondering if there was a way out of this conversation. Maybe if he pretended to pass out?

“I don’t want you to talk about it until you’re ready,” Shiro finished.

Keith looked at him, startled. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“You’re not going to make me?”

“No. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. But if you do want to talk about it… I’m always here for you to come to.”

Keith felt like a giant weight had suddenly fallen off of his shoulders, and he could breathe again. He didn’t have to think about it. He didn’t have to talk about it. “Okay. Thank you.”

Shiro gave him a small, sad smile. “Don’t thank me for that, Keith.” He gave Keith another hug, and Keith considered pulling away, because clearly something had happened under the toxin that he couldn’t remember that was making Shiro sad, and he didn’t want to be hurting Shiro, but he decided he wanted the hug more and leaned into it, grateful for the contact.

Shiro gave him a slight squeeze, and released him. “Now, let’s go see about those supposed cookies, shall we?”

Keith grinned, pushing away dark memories of pain and confusion. He wasn’t there anymore, and he didn’t want to be. He wanted to be here, now, with Shiro, in the castle. “Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, he'll talk about it.  
> ...  
> …  
> ...  
> Eventually.


End file.
